Forget Me Not

Chapter 22

CHAPTER

TWENTY-TWO

ARIS

“Your woman was one smart cookie,” Kayson states as he loads clips into his pockets and pops another into his Glock. “Not many people take the time and use their foresight to prepare for disaster the way she has.”

“Not many people grew up with Marcus and Lucinda as parents either. She had to shelter herself and Berk a lot during their childhood,” I add, contributing my viewpoint. I’m not surprised like he is that she went to these measures.

Happy? Yes.

Shocked? No.

If anyone is aware of the deviousness of the McKinnys it's me.

Hanging my head, I groan, “She knows better than anyone does how crooked and cruel they can be.”

“We’ve all had a lesson or two from those assholes,” Kayson grates out. “My family was only one of the few whose lives have been impacted because of their get rich quick schemes.”

I have nothing to say to his rightful ire, so I nod my head in acquiesce.

There’s probably more individuals out there that have crossed paths with the couple than we’ve been informed of. Hell, they may no longer be alive to tell us about their meeting. At this point, I wouldn’t put anything past them.

They’ve far exceeded my expectations of them. They have no patterns to follow and track which has made catching them in the act and reporting it next to impossible.

After receiving the message, we turned around and headed back to my place so we could organize and plan our attack. My mind is a mess of endless activity. I'm torn between comforting my best friend and helping the others scan the blueprint so that we know the best entrance and exit points of the warehouse.

Berk and Tracker have paced the entire lower level of the house until I’m worried one or the other is going to pass out. Scanning the room, my eyesight lands on my dad. Once our eyes meet, he nods his head at me letting me know he has them and I can put all of my concentration on the rescue and retrieval preparations. When that weight has been lifted from my chest, I give my unwavering attention to the leaders of the teams.

“I'm coming inside with you,” I say explicitly to Kayson, breaking up their discussion.

They’re in talks and going over the pros and cons of who’s going in and who’s going to stay behind and protect the outside borders—this second group is tasked with making sure nobody other than us escapes while keeping unknowns out and out of the line of danger.

This particular warehouse we’re infiltrating used to be where the homeless community would gather in order to protect themselves from the weather’s elements and have a roof over their heads in the meantime.

The first group is the retrieval team, they’re the ones who will be taking on the more dangerous roles. They’ll not only be facing off with the McKinnys but also whoever else they have hoarded in there with them. With it being an unidentifiable number, and since we don’t have time to case the joint and try to figure out what the quantities of people that we’re up against is, we’ve decided that taking a risk and going in blind is the only course we have.

“You’re not coming with us, Aris. You aren’t equipped or trained. You aren’t only putting yourself and Berlynn at risk of being injured, or worse, killed, but us too. We’re bonded for these operations, you’re not,” Kayson argues.

“I either go with you and follow your lead, or I go on my own. Either way, I’m not staying here while my woman is in peril,” I insist.

I’m not messing around nor am I backing down on this.

“If you won’t take me with you, even if I’m agreeing to your terms, then I’ll go get her on my own. I don’t care if you’re in agreement with me on this or not. I’m going to be the one who holds her in his arms and helps her through the emotional trauma of this entire ordeal as soon as we get her out of that place. End of discussion.”

“Stop being an asshole, Aris,” Garrick instructs. “You’re too emotionally involved and aren’t listening nor are you of sound mind. What you’re demanding and persistent about isn’t only reckless, it’s deadly!”

“I know that!” I yell. “But it’s my choice and that’s my woman!”

“You’ve pointed that out,” Kayson interrupts. “The only way I’ll even think about such incompetence is if you agree to stay your ass inside of the car.”

“What? No fucking way, Kayson,” I hiss. “I want to carry her out of there while y’all take care of the trash.”

“What about a compromise?” my dad interjects.

“What sort of compromise are we talking about here?” Kayson asks him. His hands are firmly planted on his hips and eyes narrowed as he pivots them between Dad and me.

“Aris stays in the car?—”

When I growl and step forward to tell him that’s not happening, he snaps his fingers at me then readjusts his tie. It’s a move he only executes when he’s prepping to go in for the kill, and I’ve seen it so many times in the courtroom where it worked to his advantage, I immediately back down. I know he’s got my best interests at heart, well, mine and Berlynn’s, as well as Berk’s, so anything he’s going to say is bound to give me what I want while keeping Kayson and Garrick happy.

Properly put in my place, Dad continues speaking, “No, sir. Step back and let me finish what I was saying.” Knowing that he means business, I do as he asks and move back to my prior position. “That’s better. Anyway, as I was saying before being rudely disrupted, Aris stays in the car until you have the warehouse and occupants secure, then he can come inside and grab Berlynn.”

Kayson rotates his stance and walks up to me, getting in my face. “If I agree to this, Aris, swear to fuck you best stay seated in that car. If you don’t, I’ll hogtie you inside of it and you will be shipped back here faster than you can blink. Are we clear?”

“Crystal,” I blurt through a clenched jaw.

“Great,” Kayson icily says, “let’s roll.”

I’m in the lead car since I’m the only one who has the tracking app on their phone. “In two miles, we’ll turn left and we’ll come upon a dilapidated parking lot one mile before the warehouse,” I report to Kayson.

“How do you know it’s decrepit, Aris?” he inquires.

“I looked up the surrounding areas online. The aerial view shows this is the best place for us to hide the convoy,” I return. “Once I hear that y’all have gone inside, I’ll drive over and wait for word that I can come in and get Berlynn.”

There. How’s that for compromising?

Is it what I want to do? Absolutely fucking not.

However, even I can see what the ramifications would be of me going in untrained.

Do I want to be the first one to set his sights on her? Without any doubt.

But at the end of the day, as long as I have her back, I’ll put my pride to the back burner and do whatever they want. With that said, driving over there so I can extract her quickly, that isn’t something I’m willing to budge on.

“That should work,” Kayson says. “Keep your earpiece in and don’t move from that spot until I give you the go-ahead. Don’t go all gung-ho and assume the scene is secure.”

“I already told you I wouldn’t,” I snarkly reply.

“I know you did,” he agrees. “But I’m also aware that you can be a hothead and jump into the fray without considering the consequences. It could be a domino effect.”

Moaning, I tell him, “Berlynn is the most important thing here, Kayson. I won't move a muscle until I get the word from you.”

I’m getting tired of repeating myself.

Either they shut the fuck up and believe me or they don’t.

There’s nothing more I can do to appease them other than keep reaffirming that I’m willing to do as asked. I may be a hardheaded asshole, but I’m biting the bullet here and letting the experts do what they’ve been trained to do while sitting back like a little bitch.

“I’m sorry if you think I’m pestering you, Aris. But you’re not only a client, you’re also a friend and if anything happens to either you or Berlynn, it’s a burden I have to carry and I have enough of them to deal with already,” Kayson grumbles.

“And I’m not trying to be a pain in your ass, Kayson. But that’s my entire world I’m entrusting you with, and that’s fucking hard for me to do. I just got her back, and I’m not ready to live in a world without her in it.”

During our conversation, we made it to the lot I directed him to. Kayson clears his throat then makes me a promise, “I won’t let anything happen to her, Aris. Swear that on my life. I’ve experienced what it’s like to have the rug yanked out from underneath you, and that’s not something I’d wish on my worst enemy. No pun intended since I’m fixing to fuck up the lives of two of my biggest antagonists and adversaries. But when push comes to shove, Berlynn is my top priority.”

“Then stop stalling and go get my woman,” I tell him as I grab the two earpieces from the glovebox. I put mine in my ear and hand Kayson his as well as the bluetoothed walkie-talkie. “I’ll be good, Daddy.”

“Asshole,” he laughs.

“Always,” I remark.

“See you soon, Aris.”

“Stay safe, Kayson.”

“Will do,” he replies before leaping from the car and meeting the rest of the group in a huddle. When they break apart and head in the direction of the run-down warehouse, my throat sinks into my chest.

“They’re coming, baby girl. I’ll see you soon,” I whisper into the universe, praying that she can hear me through it. “Love you. Come back to me.”

Seconds drag into minutes as I sit in the darkened silence—crickets and grasshoppers are my only companions. I pass the time by counting the stars and watching birds fly to their nests. My legs begin bouncing as I wait for the radio to crackle. For the millionth time, I look down at my watch.

“Come on, come on, come on,” I chant.

Patience isn’t my most valuable quality, and I’ve proven that time and time again. What’s only been fifteen minutes feels like fifteen hours. I begin bouncing my head off the seat’s padded headrest, hitting it hard enough to keep me from spiraling into bleak thoughts that have no room in my mind.

“Aris. We’re going in now. Give us five minutes then head this way,” Kayson’s voice says through the headphones.

“Yes!” I start the timer on my phone and make sure the temperature in the car is neither too hot nor too cold. Once it’s room temp, I look at how long has passed. Needing to do something other than sit here considering it’s only been two minutes since the call came in, I start creeping my way backward.

At least if the car is facing the right way, it’ll ease some of that restlessness inside of me.

When the alarm blares on my phone’s stopwatch, I hit the gas like I’m a race car hopeful and speed to my destination.